


Truly Convenient

by FreakyPseudWriter



Category: Naruto
Genre: Convenience Stores, F/M, First Meetings, Late at Night, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25086460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakyPseudWriter/pseuds/FreakyPseudWriter
Summary: After the war, Shikamaru contemplates his future plans he once made when I was a child, not knowing that they all are about to change when he simply walks late at night into a convenience store to buy some needed cigarettes.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Original Character(s), Nara Shikamaru/Original Female Character(s), Nara Shikamaru/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 190





	Truly Convenient

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chisie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chisie/gifts).



> Another request I finally got done! :D Just something cute and fluffy in between for one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world. Chisie, you're awesome, period. Nothing more to be said here. :D
> 
> >Does that mean I can send one too ;DD But this time. Shikamaru. Fluff. Maybe soft knives. But fluff.  
> Soulmate AU, winged  
> In a supermarket at 3am, golden wings<
> 
> (It became 2am... Whoops.)

He never envisioned his life to be this way. So chaotic and stressful; every hour of every day packed with meetings and documents, and laws, and complaints about this and that. Shikamaru never thought his life would ever be this way. No, as a child he believed the epitome of his life would be to live it lazily; slowly. Not too much danger, not too many missions, just doing the bare minimum. Then, when he did his duty: he would retire, find a girl he would maybe come to love, build a house, start a family. Then, one day, he would wake up, his hair entirely gray and wrinkles deeply ingrained into his face, teach his grandchildren how to play _shogi_ and maybe even let them win.

Sometimes.

But everything changed over the years. _He_ changed — his vision of life, the world and his village changed. Shikamaru sighed, the quiet puff of air rising into the night sky. Changed by what happened; by Asuma’s death, the role he had been given by his late mentor, the war, his role as an advisor for Kakashi. He grew up. Grew out of the lazy visions his past self liked to envision when times became too hard and reality too loud to bear.

Now, he had no idea what he wanted. What he could strive for.

Sure, there was this very nice idea of meeting his soulmate. Seeing the wings sprout on the back of a stranger and feeling how his ethereal wings would grow out of his shoulder blades. Knowing there was someone he belonged to, without any conditions, rules or setbacks. A home; a home like no one else had given it to him in… _ages_.

The unlit cigarette between his lips rocked up and down as Shikamaru starred up into the darkening evening sky. The clouds were drifting with their usual laziness across the horizon, unhurried and unbothered by the earthly troubles. With his arms crossed behind his neck, legs crossed at the ankles and stretched out on the flat roof of one of the Nara-houses, he had watched the sky for an entire afternoon. Before, he had been busy doing nothing while listening to the outside hustle of a fully blooming Konoha.

His first free day in _months_ and he had done nothing all day. No regrets there, to be honest.

Without looking away from the clouds, Shikamaru reached for the lighter inside his pants, flicked it open with a practiced jerk of his wrist and lit the cigarette. The first drag of smoke filled his lungs. For a second, he allowed it to curl inside his chest, before puffing out just like a dragon would: breathing out the smoke through his nose and watching the faint wisps of smoke trailing off into the air.

While puffing away, Shikamaru tried to empty his head out completely. A nice task, given that he was always thinking, always planning, always running around and trying to solve problems which weren’t his own. Staring up at the cloud helped most of the time, but today… Tonight (he changed his wording, given the late hour and lowering sun), his usual methods weren’t working. Some stray thought disturbed the cold vast empty space he tried to imagine while thinking of nothing. First, it was about tomorrow’s budgeting meeting with the clans; if he had all the information and reports needed (safely stored away inside his desk in the Hokage Tower, of course). Then, just when he managed to chase away that disturbing thought about _work_ , Ino and Sai rose into the foreground of his mind.

The lucky ones. Soulmates. Shikamaru met them just a few days ago, and they had seemed as happy as ever, even though Sai had been busy painting ever so stealthily a caricature of Ino into one of his scrolls. One look from Shikamaru and he explained that he wanted to test out if a painted Ino would scare his enemies as thoroughly as he was when she started laying into him.

A whispered explanation, given the target of their whispering was merely a few meters away.

And of course, the third thought immediately joined the second one. Soulmates. Seeing wings sprout of the back of another person. He snorted, the cigarette nodding up and down between his lips.

If not for Sai and Ino, Shikamaru would’ve never believed that one could actually _meet_ their soulmate in one’s lifetime. So rare, so unusual. The world was a vast and wide space after all, but between all that chaos of their shinobi lives, Ino and Sai found each other. Somehow.

And like a beacon of hope for the Konoha 12, they inspired the others to start looking for their own other halves out there, after the war was done and peace reigned.

Sasuke already left, Naruto joining him shortly after. It seemed like Sakura wanted to go after them, when she was sure the hospital was in good hands. Choji wandered toward the village hidden behind the clouds, exclaiming he had already found his soulmate during the war. The others too —Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Lee, Tenten— they had all already left or were preparing for a long trip. 

Again, Shikamaru sighed as the last breaths of smoke filled his lungs. Only he was truly tied to the village in a way he couldn’t leave behind. Was he jealous of his friends? Maybe a bit, yes. Who didn’t want to meet their soulmate? But would he avoid them if they truly found their other half, out of fear his envy would betray him? No way. Every single one of them deserved to find happiness—after all the shit they have been through.

If he solely didn’t find his soulmate, then he would have to settle for his plan A. It was as simple as that.

With that logic crystal clear in his mind, he reached for the pack of cigarettes once more. As he flipped it open, he was already in the middle of an annoyed groan. Of course, he had just used the last one.

“… Fuck.” The single word floated into the air and vanished, just like the earlier wisps of smoke. He would need to buy some.

Though, there was no time. His mother expected him any moment for dinner, and after his father died… being late would only be troublesome—for both of them. The cigarettes had to wait. For the moment, he was satisfied anyway and didn’t need another one so soon. There was time to buy some later on, before most shops were closed.

Except, there wasn’t. Like always when Shikamaru had planned something trivial —like grocery shopping or trying to buy some cigarettes— things tended to get out of hand and foil his plans for said trivial matters.

This time, his mother was the one to absolutely overthrow his further planning. First off, the dinner lasted way longer than expected. Just telling her about his daily troubles as the Hokage’s advisor and right-hand took a long time, not to mention his mother complaining about the chores a clan head (or in her case, a temporary clan head instead of him as long as he was working for the Hokage) had to perform. Then, his mother asked him to check some of the said decisions made as the clan head, to be rightfully approved and filed away. Even more time down the drain, but Shikamaru nevertheless only closed his eyes briefly and sighed, before checking the dreaded paperwork. File for file, meticulous in his approach and pointing out minor mistakes which could later on create major problems.

When he looked out of the window and saw the pale moon already way too high for his liking, he could only barely resist the urge to curse his heart out. After all the unexpected paperwork, there was nothing better than a cigarette.

One look at the clock, and his worst suspicions were confirmed. Just past one in the morning. It would be close to two before he would be able to drag himself and his smoke-deprived ass into a still-open convenience store only to buy overpriced cigarettes.

If they even carried his brand.

And after that nightmare of paperwork, he definitely needed a drag of that sweet, sweet smoke and the including nicotine.

It didn’t take as long as he feared to find an open convenience store. Barely a twenty-minute walk over the roofs, always along the main street of Konoha, still under repairs and construction work even months after the attack of Pain and his Six Paths. While looking around, a wave of unabashed pride at the people washed over him. To anyone who asked, Shikamaru would never admit it, but he loved to see how resilient the people of his village were, how headstrong and remarkable they were even after the many, many setbacks which hit Konoha over the years. Even more of a reason to protect the ‘king’ of Konoha: the children, unborn or already walking around on their own, wobbly legs, learning to throw their first kunai or learning a safe, stable occupation. No matter what, it was his task to protect all of them, as they were the future.

Only when he nearly stepped off the roof he was walking on, Shikamaru became aware of his surroundings again. It was a small habit of his to get lost in his own head, overthinking this and that and all of everything. Especially lately, with things moving finally into the right direction, peace reigning and countries trying to overcome decades of hatred and blood spill, Shikamaru noticed himself drifting off more and more often.

 _And always_ , he sighed, _always, always, always, my thoughts go back to my soulmate._

The unknown person; shrouded in mystery. His perfect half, the other part of his soul, even though most described it not as being whole, but being _more_ together. More than just one person, more than a hundred percent, more than one being.

Definitely sounded appealing, even for him, he mused dryly while jumping down the house into a deserted alley, only to stroll out of the shadows into the broad streetlight of a nearby lamp. The few people who were still out didn’t pay him much attention, merely a few looks before turning their heads back onto the road, either laughing and talking with their friends or hurrying down the streets in order to get home as soon as possible in the hopes to climb into their beds. At this late hour, a reasonable interest.

Though, Shikamaru was only driven by one particular interest as he entered the convenience store, the cold light shining through the glass front burning a bit in his eyes. A little bell greeted him as he pushed the door open, a little relic of nostalgia in this surprisingly modernized wide open space. The tiles layering the ground were of an almost pristine alpine white, the walls plastered with almost too bright and colorful posters of new products coming from outside the Fire Country; brought by the peace negotiations and agreements between the Five Big Shinobi Villages and the opened-up trading routes. Every row was clearly labeled with all the bare necessities offered for a slightly-too-high-price, illuminated by unforgiving lights and watched over by the clearly bored clerk sitting with a thick book propped up onto his till behind the cash register.

To Shikamaru’s vague surprise, there was actually another person roaming the aisles. Though, he merely saw the top of a head bobbing up and down as they walked alongside the opposite wall, a row of fridges with all kinds of different beverages sitting and cooling, only waiting to be picked up by an eager and thirsty customer. The doors opened and closed, a silent hum of a female voice slightly drifting through the air. A children’s lullaby, Shikamaru realized after a few blinks, soothing and weak and still able to cut through the air like glass. Glass smoothened by wind and water over years, all-natural curves and waves.

Crystal-clear and beautiful.

_What a strange thought to have._

It wasn’t like him to think this lyrical — to be this poetic. He had always been clear and direct with his thoughts. Not throwing around metaphors and symbols like poets would do.

The late hour was getting to him, Shikamaru mused dryly. A low sigh, then he turned right and walked down the aisle, his eyes lazily drifting over the shelves while the gentle humming still drifted through the store.

Somehow, out of reasons which failed to come to him at the moment, Shikamaru noticed himself _lingering_ in the different aisles. Despite the late hour and his own crave to finally head to bed, he found himself waiting with bated breath whenever the other customer came into his close proximity. Though, like two same sides of a magnet, the other customer always seemed to drift away, unaware of her surroundings. Yes, a girl — Shikamaru had caught a little glimpse of her when he just rounded a corner before she vanished in the next row.

Only when he reached the other end of the small convenience store where the girl had been when he entered, Shikamaru remembered why he actually came inside. _Cigarettes_ , damn. He wanted to buy cigarettes, and of course, the cigarettes were right behind the cashier.

Too enthralled by the humming to realize such a simple truth. It was really too late for his own good.

A low sigh escaped him, before he turned around and trudged back towards the front. When he rounded the corner, to his right the fridges and to the left the entrance and exit of the convenience store. And —surprise, surprise— for the first time since he entered the store, he was able to see the other customer in her entirety.

The girl had to be his age, but he could only guess as her back was turned to him. However, her clothes spoke of a sleepless night. Old, worn-out shirt and low-hanging sweatpants, holes already crawling up the leg closest to Shikamaru. A faded jacket which would’ve been a light blue or beige once upon a time hung from her shoulders, her hair disheveled like she had drawn her fingers repeatedly and with increasing frustration through the strands. Most telling were her shoes though.

Most adults had one pair of shoes exactly like those: easy to slip into, comfy, almost run down to the very last threads of the sole, and an absolute nightmare to be spotted in. The perfect choice to wear when coming down from a nearby flat to do some very late-night shopping. Definitely not a good choice when meeting other people though.

While Shikamaru drew closer, step for step, mustering and musing about the outer appearance of the other customer, she was still talking softly to the clerk. Measured at the suddenly animated and even interested expression of the guy, he thought he had chances with her. So, maybe… a regular customer?

All these thoughts in the back of his mind were forgotten the instant the girl looked over her shoulder to see who was closing in. Their eyes met. Met and got stuck in each other. A tingle wandered down Shikamaru’s spine, burning and freezing him at the same time. His fingers were shaking as he raised one hand to cup his neck, eyes still locked with the girl. She seemed just as stuck as he was, rosy lips slightly apart and blinking rapidly.

In the split seconds which followed, a few different thoughts jumped into Shikamaru’s mind, none of them made it to stay and each and everyone of them seemed important enough to try to remember.

_She’s cute._

_Downright beautiful._

_Exhausted. A long shift? Long day in general?_

_Is her skin as soft as it looks like?_

_Gods, I would like to find out._

It was only when she drew a sharp breath in, Shikamaru found himself able to draw away his eyes from hers. The world seemed to _pull_ ; to drop him and her into place. A tiny nudge into the _right_ direction; so unknown and mysterious he would’ve never considered this motion and yet, it felt so natural and good his shoulders dropped a notch at the instant relief of _knowing_.

Finally _knowing_.

He was only a little bit shocked to see the first ethereal feathers start to sprout out of her back, the roots sitting right on top of the faded-out jacket. They grew, grew larger and bigger, the feathers spreading out and the very tips soon touching the ground. The wings filling the empty room behind the girl were of a soft amber color; the same color the coat of the newborn deer had every spring the Nara clan went into their woods to be blessed by the animals. Amber and brown dotting the feathers, some white sprinkling the feathers closer to the inside of the wings and a few dots of grey mixed into it.

His brain was already processing the information even though Shikamaru himself still couldn’t turn his eyes away from the miraculous sight right in front of him. On the inside, he was glad no one else would be able to see her wings (which were also kind of his wings, come to think of it), as they would be a sure giveaway who her soulmate was if one wasn’t half-blind and brain dead. Anyone with a brain would see the spotted appearance of a Nara deer in the freckled feathers, lighter than air and slightly see-through.

At the same time, a tingle wandered up and down his spine. The tingles spread, concentrated on the lower ends of his shoulder blades, exactly where wings would break out of his soul to show his fated mate that they belonged together.

Belonged each other.

“You’re…” Her voice was breathless as she pointed at him, her lips quivering the tiniest bit. “You’re my…”

“It seems so.” Even though his stomach was filled with dread, Shikamaru tried to appear unbothered. Irrational fear made logical thinking suddenly a lot harder than usual. What if she didn’t like him? What if she didn’t find him satisfactory? _Desirable_? What if — _all gods in heaven and below_ — she disliked shinobi? What if she disliked _him_ , for whatever reason she could think of?

Maybe they were platonic soulmates. Maybe they were supposed to be friends who understood each other without a word. Understand each other even better than family members would. Honestly, Shikamaru would take anything at this point. Just… _knowing_ he had a soulmate was already more than he could’ve hoped for. More than he ever dared to wish for.

Though, the little clench of his stomach and the tug of his heart when her lips rose into a little smile, when a little blush spread on her face and her body relaxed as she took him in —fully, without a worry, and she definitely _liked_ what she saw— indicated that their bond wasn’t platonic. Not at all. Even her new wings rustled, spread and retracted, the very tips of the feathers brushing over the clinically clean white linoleum on the ground as she took a step closer, the wide hoodie hanging around her frame, nearly engulfing her.

Shikamaru wanted nothing more than to bury his face, his nose in that fabric, breathe in and smell her scent. Take it in, relish in it. Make it part of his own, mark her with his own smell. Tug her closer, touch her for the very first time and again and again, until he could always recall the feeling of her skin underneath his fingertips whenever he wanted.

Suddenly, her smile dropped. A frown appeared on her face, just before her eyes lowered themselves. Her hands fiddled with the wide sleeves of her jacket, tugged the wide-open flaps closer to hide the colorful drawing of a popular character of a morning tv-show for children on the front (which Shikamaru already saw and found quite endearing on her).

Shikamaru already understood. Thankfully, his brain wasn’t as slow as, for example, _Naruto’s_. He would’ve never guessed what could go on inside the head of his soulmate, would’ve never taken two calm steps forward and ignored the clerk guy, who by now was rolling his eyes and not even trying to hide it.

“Hey.” At his soft voice, his soulmate twitched ever so slightly. Her eyes again found his, and _again_ : there was this strange magnetism between them. Drifting towards each other felt natural, so he did. He took one last, final step. Finally close enough to be able to reach out; a brave motion considering they just met.

Shikamaru stopped just before he was able to touch her. He asked; asked silently and merely with his eyes, and only when she nodded weakly, biting her lip, his palm ever so gently cupped her face.

Her skin was soft. Warm. Shikamaru watched how his own thumb moved over her cheekbone, feeling the curve of her face, the way her smile moved the muscles underneath, felt everything shift beneath his hand to react to the tender gesture. To _his_ gesture, the gesture of a soulmate.

_Soulmate._

He found his. In his own village. At two in the morning. On the hunt for cigarettes. The absurdity of the situation wasn’t lost on him, but the wonder and sheer amazement outweighed every other emotion he currently went through.

“Hey,” she whispered back. She was still smiling, her eyes twinkling like the north star itself.

_Another unnecessarily poetic comment. And again, I can’t bring myself to care._

“I’m Shikamaru Nara. What’s your name?”

“(Y/N). And I know. Everyone knows the guy who is the new Hokage’s pet.” Mischief could be easily read out of her expression as she made the teasing comment. Then, her own hand rose to place itself on his, still basically glued to her face. “I never would’ve thought to be his soulmate, though.”

“What a drag,” he breathed, “you’re such a troublesome woman.”

However, his trademark words lost their usual bite and force. They were said with a light smile tugging at his own mouth, his tongue forming them with disbelieving tenderness as he continued to look into her eyes, where he could see the future which laid ahead of them.

Well, for the next few minutes, they would continue to stare into each other’s eyes in the middle of the convenience store, the clerk would continue to huff and puff and roll his eyes at their antics, and sometimes, they would maybe detangle to actually buy their respective stuff and walk out, probably exchange addresses and set a meeting time for tomorrow.

About the following weeks, months, years, decades though? Who knew? Who knew what would come in the future? But Shikamaru had the distinct feeling (and this time, he didn’t think he needed to make precise plans for that) they would be more than just a bit troublesome. Also, probably the best years of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Chisie, another big thank-you for also proofreading your own request ;D


End file.
